In
this world, too often you have
to choose between sense and
sensation; in the car world, you either
buy a five-door hatchback or you
buy a supercar. You cant
have both
in one body. Or can you? Audis
barnstorming RS 7 Performance
proves otherwise...

SENSIBLE AND SENSATIONAL? Surely that's just being greedy. But hey, the RS7
Performance is a car that really does pull off the impossible: a family hatchback
that crushes supercars to sprinkle on its breakfast. Oh, and by the way, it
also wafts you around in superlative comfort.

To this latest version of its RS 7 Sportback, Audi has appended the word 'Performance',
which adds about £5,500 to the price but also a bit more power. In fact, it's
now got more horsepower than one of the greatest supercars of our time 
and a VW Group stablemate  the Lamborghini Huracán LP 580.

Itll
accelerate from rest
to 124mph in
an unbelievable 12.1
seconds.
Top speed?
Normally, its restricted
to 155mph... but you
can order the
Dynamic Plus pack
that will take it
all the way to 189mph!

In normal RS 7 guise, this pumps out 552bhp  not a bad slug of potency,
it must be admitted. But when Audi adds its Performance pack magic, including
specific engine management, increased rpm and more boost pressure, that peak
figure jumps to 596bhp.

The upshot is 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds (shaving 0.2 seconds off the regular RS
7's sprint time). It'll also accelerate from rest to 124mph in an unbelievable
12.1 seconds. Top speed? Normally, it's restricted to 155mph but you can order
a 174mph derestriction option  or go even further with a 'Dynamic Plus'
pack that will take it all the way to 189mph.

It's
not just about pure power, either. You have a monumental 516lb ft of torque
at your disposal in normal driving, which is enough to waft you around with
effortless ease from urban pace right up to autobahn speeds. But the peak torque
figure can go even higher when you use the overboost function  to 553lb
ft (37lb ft more than the regular RS 7).

The RS 7's eight-speed tiptronic transmission is a fabulous bit of kit, too.
It works in a super-smooth and easy way in normal mode, so trips to Tesco are
far from tiresome. However, flick the lever to Sport and the engine revs like
a good 'un. No, it still doesn't sound anything like Audi's V10 but by heck
it sure does go. If you really want, you can also change gear manually using
the steering wheel shifters.

Surely
it all falls apart when it comes to corners? OK, it may not have the handling
sharpness of an Audi R8 or a Lamborghini, but the RS 7 is nonetheless extremely
good. Thank the quattro permanent all-wheel drive for that.

Normally
40 per cent of the torque goes to the front axle and 60 per cent to the rear,
but that can change in an instant if the clever electronic brain thinks it should.
There's a sport differential at the rear, too, shifting the torque between the
rear wheels as necessary. The RS 7 also has air suspension with a 20mm lower
ride height.

With
a list price of
£91,600, its pricey 
but how many other
supercars have anything
like the five-seat
hatchback practicality
of the Audi?
None, I reckon...

However,
there are two slight issues when it comes to cornering. The first is that this
is just such a huge machine; placing it requires care on anything other than
major roads, which inevitably reduces your pace. So it's all too easy to find
yourself driven off the road by SUVs occupying more than half the road space.

The
other issue is that it doesn't feel quite as resolved as, say, a Mercedes AMG.
I tried the car in anger on a circuit and found that the body rolls a fair bit,
even in Sport mode.

Understeer is still well contained but it never fully leaves the party. One
thing that does work is the brakes: like a true supercar, you can order carbon-fibre
ceramic brakes as an option but the standard steel ones are really more than
adequate.

Inside, the special RS seats are heavily bolstered to hold you in place 
and in their black-and-blue Alcantara and leather honeycomb facings they also
look great. Matching these are cabin inlays using carbon interwoven with a blue
thread  luvverly!

Despite
its substantial weight (1,930kg) and five-person carrying ability, the RS 7
surprises with some decent fuel economy. Clever electronics let the V8 work
in four-cylinder mode when on a gentle throttle, keeping fuel consumption down.
Audi claims it's the best car in its class at 29.7mpg overall. I was getting
more like 23mpg in daily use during my test, but for the performance that's
still pretty respectable.

Importantly for taxpayers, the CO2 is kept down to 221g/km. However, you do
pay tax on a list price of £91,600 for the RS 7 Sportback Performance. Pricey,
yes  but how many other supercars have anything like the five-seat hatchback
practicality of the Audi? None, I reckon. ~ Chris Rees